HRC STANDS AGAINST ANY ATTACKS ON DACA BY THE TRUMP-PENCE ADMINISTRATION: HRC will stand against any attempt by the Trump-Pence Administration to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The five-year-old program has allowed hundreds of thousands of young people who were brought to the U.S. as minors to stay in the country, to continue their studies and to continue making positive contributions to our nation. It is estimated that approximately 75,000 of these “Dreamers” are LGBTQ, and HRC has endorsed the 2017 DREAM Act (H.R.3440/S.1615), which was introduced in Congress in July to explicitly authorize the government to stop the deportation of Dreamers. HRC has also signed on to a letter in support of Dreamers, which was signed by over 1,850 governors, state and municipal officials, civil organizations and faith leaders. For the estimated 75,000 LGBTQ Dreamers, the prospect of deportation contains an additional element of uncertainty, since they may be sent to countries that have poor LGBTQ human rights records. For example, in El Salvador, transgender women have faced such a tremendous upsurge in violence that the United Nations called for an investigation into the situation.

Jesus Contreras, a Houston-area paramedic who saved countless people during Hurricane Harvey, will be at risk of deportation if DACA is ended. More from BuzzFeed.

Alonso Guillen, a Dreamer, died while traversing Hurricane Harvey in a boat to rescue those stranded in the floodwaters. More from New York Daily News.

Major corporations, including Facebook, Apple and Google are joining a majority of fair-minded Americans in supporting DACA and Dreamers. More from Recode.

LABOR MOVEMENT HAS STOOD SHOULDER-TO-SHOULDER WITH LGBTQ ADVOCATES: Following the Labor Day weekend, it’s important to reflect on the role the labor movement has played in furthering LGBTQ equality. “In the Trump-Pence era, unions are needed now more than ever,” writes HRC Senior Vice President for Programs, Research and Training Mary Beth Maxwell in an piece for the Advocate. “When working people have the opportunity to speak up together through unions, we make progress that benefits everyone -- like affordable health care, paid leave, and a higher minimum wage, for opportunity and non-discrimination. In unions we have powerful allies for fairness and equity for all of us.” More from HRC and the Advocate.

TUESDAY TWEET -- ELLEN BEGINS ITS 15TH SEASON TODAY: Today, Ellen DeGeneres’ hit talk show (@TheEllenShow) will mark a decade and a half of bringing her trademark humor, wit and compassion into our homes. In honor of today’s episode, HRC remembers the 15 times that Ellen has inspired us, moved us and helped make our society just a little bit more inclusive. More from HRC.

CANADA PROVIDES REFUGE TO PERSECUTED LGBTQ CHECHENS: The Canadian nonprofit Rainbow Railroad announced that they have been working with the Canadian government to bring at least 22 persecuted LGBTQ Chechens to the country. News first broke in April that more than 100 gay and bisexual Chechen men had been arrested by government authorities and detained without charge. While some have been freed, many remain in detention and have been beaten, tortured and even killed. The Trump-Pence White House continues to fail to respond to these atrocities. Read the full piece from the The New York Times.

Morning Must Read: “How a transgender Chechen escaped Russia and found asylum in the United States,” from The Washington Post.

NASHVILLE STATEMENT BY TRUMP’S EVANGELICAL SUPPORTERS ENDORSES REAL-LIFE HARM TO LGBTQ PEOPLE: Writing in The New York Times, Eliel Cruz (@ElielCruz), founder of the Faithfully LGBT project and a member of HRC’s Religion Council, said this about the dangers of the ugly anti-LGBTQ manifesto: “Members of the clergy and laity, Christians and non-Christians, politicians and citizens, should continue to speak with one moral voice against this kind of dangerous intolerance. Every time it manifests itself, whether in a widely publicized statement or a message from a hometown pastor, we should condemn theology that causes L.G.B.T. people harm as the spiritual malpractice that it is.” The so-called “Nashville Statement,” released last week by a coalition of roughly 150 conservative Evangelical Christian leaders, was signed by prominent members of the Trump-Pence administration’s Evangelical Advisory Board. More from The New York Times.

WEST POINT DOES RIGHT BY TRANSGENDER GRADUATE: Riley Dosh’s (@Ms_Riley_Guprz) name and correct pronouns were updated by West Point in its alumni records in a powerful moment of transgender inclusion. The military academy’s inclusive action comes in the wake of the discriminatory White House directive that interferes in Department of Defense personnel policy by pushing forward the Trump-Pence effort to ban qualified transgender people from serving in the military. More from Into.

WHAT TO KNOW AHEAD OF CHARLOTTE’S MUNICIPAL PRIMARY ELECTION: Charlotte is gearing up for a September 12 Municipal Primary Election, when locals will cast ballots for mayor and city council members. HRC joined Equality NC and MeckPAC in endorsing Mayor Jennifer Roberts (@JenRobertsNC) for re-election. Equality NC and MeckPAC have also endorsed a slate of pro-equality Charlotte council candidates. More from HRC.

HRC MOURNS DEXTER POTTINGER, LGBTQ ADVOCATE MURDERED IN JAMAICA: Pottinger, a fashion designer and LGBTQ advocate, was known as the “face of Pride” and worked with J-FLAG, the foremost human rights and social justice advocacy organization for LGBTQ people in Jamaica. He was found stabbed to death Thursday in his Kingston home. Jamaica is one of 72 countries with laws against same-sex sexual activity. More from the Advocate.

Dexter Pottinger, Jamaican gay activist, designer, and face of Jamaica Pride 2017, was found murdered in his home yesterday. Rest in power. pic.twitter.com/H6yemIK2uK

LGBTQ ADVOCATES ARGUE IN AUSTRALIA’S HIGHEST COURT TO STOP MARRIAGE EQUALITY SURVEY: The advocates claim the government “does not have the power to bypass Parliament to pay for a 122 million Australian dollar ($97 million) public survey.” They believe that Parliament should vote on marriage equality without the survey. The case will continue tomorrow, as the federal government presents its case. More from The Associated Press.

Australian writer and broadcaster Richard Glover (@RGloverOz) serves up a primer on the effort to win marriage equality in his country, read it in The Washington Post.